"Worthless," said Fitter.

"Useless," said Roperig.

"A waste of time and effort," Cutwood added.

"Now what do we do?" asked Rainspot.

"Try to explain it to the dragon," said the crushed Sighter.

No one said much about the lens failure except Cupelix.

The otherwise genial, well-mannered dragon had a dragon sized tantrum.

"Thundering incompetents! Witless – inept!" A tremen dous telepathic FOOLS! made them all flinch.

"Do be still," Kitiara said severely. "A dragon your age, carrying on like a spoiled child! Do you think the little fel lows guarantee success?"

Sturm watched the effect of Kitiara's chiding on the beast.

Cupelix's ears, which had been flattened on his head, slowly lifted, and the jets of acrid vapor stopped puffing from his nostrils.

"I had such hopes!" Cupelix allowed.

"Well, it looks like we're going to be here a long while,"

Kitiara said. "So we shall have plenty of time to think up new ways to get you out of this marble cell."

Mollified, the dragon prepared them a cold repast and retired to his high sanctum to meditate on his problems.

Sturm, Kitiara, and the gnomes went outside and stared at the Cloudmaster. Poor, lifeless hulk, an immobile derelict gracing the red turf of Lunitari.

Sturm put a hand to his chin and pondered what he understood from Wingover's explanation of how the Cloud master flew.i The wings were useless without lightning to turn the engine. All that remained was the half-empty bag of ethereal air. He said, "What about the ethereal air?"

"What about it?" asked Wingover.

Sturm, rather abashed to be making technical arguments to the gnomes, said, "Bellcrank used to say that when full, the ethereal air bag was sufficient to lift the ship."

"With all due respect to our late colleague, the lifting power of the bag is much less than the total weight of the hull of the ship," Stutts said. They lapsed into silence once again. Sturm thought some more. Kitiara's eyes narrowed as she, too, concentrated.

"What if we lightened the ship?" said Fitter.

"What?" said Sturm.

"What?" said Stutts, Wingover, Sighter, Rainspot, and

Flash.

"What!" said Cutwood, Roperig, and (translated) Bird call.

Kitiara grinned her Off-center grin, something she did all too rarely these days. "Lighten the ship!" she declared.

"Now that's Something I can understand!" She picked little

Fitter up and Shook him So hard that his teeth rattled. Then

She boosted him up to the rail. The gnome Went below deck and Opened the side boarding ramp. The Other gnomes swarmed aboard, fired with the Zeal Of desperation. Before sturm and Kitiara had even mounted the ramp, loud crash es and Splintering creaks sounded within the Ship.

"They may rip everything Out," Stuim Said wryly. "Deck, celing, planks, and posts." ) The gnomes formed a chain from the lowest deck to the top rail and began flinging everything they could lay their hands On Over the Side. They ransacked their cabins and brought forth all their personal belongings. Sturm Was astounded by the mass and variety Of it: blankets, books, tools, clothing, barrels, pots, plates, rope, cord, twine, Sail cloth, a crate Of ink, pens, bars Of Soap, two harmonicas, a fiddle, a flute, Sixteen pairs Of boots (all sized too big for

Sturm, much less any gnome that ever lived), gloves, belts, and a Stuffed billy goat that cutwood kept in his cabin.

Some items couldn't be manhandled to the upper deck.

Kitiara found Roperig and Fitter lying prostrate beside a large keg. "We can't budge it," Roperig panted.

"I'll do it." She turned the keg around to See if there was a bung attached. Liquid sloshed inside, and a single Word in gnomish block letters was stenciled On the Staves. Kitiara said, "What's in this, anyway?"

Fitter Squinted at the label. "Oil Of Vitriol. Must have been Bellcrank's," he Said. A Slight quiver invaded his chin.

"Vitriol, eh?" She recalled the mess that the acid had made

Of Bellcrank's Excellent Mouthless Siphon back On Krynn.

"Why hasn't it eaten through the keg?"

"Oh, it's probably lined with some resistant coating," Said

Roperig. He Wiped the back Of his neck with his hand, and it promptly Stuck there. "Oh, dry roti"

Kitiara drummed her fingers On the barrel head. "Hmm, that's worth knowing. So this stuff dissolves some things but not Others?"

"Yes." Roperig tried to free his hand and succeeded in sticking his Other hand to his Own arm. "Double dry rot I"

"Will Oil Of vitriol dissolve marble?" She asked.

"Maybe. It doesn't affect many glassy substances."

"What about lead?"

"Yes, definitely. Fitter, stop fidgeting and help met"

She left the two gnomes locked in a Stmlle against

Roperig'S adhesive palms. The gnome she sought, Stutts, was Outside the ship, Sorting through the heap Of goods that the gnomes had discarded. Kitiara pulled Stutts free Of a pile

Of clothing and Said, "I know how to get the dragon Out!"

"What?" said the gnome. "How?"

"Bellcrank'S vitriol." She gestured vaguely back toward the ship. "There's a whole barrelful Of it On board. If we let it eat up the mortar in the lowest course Of the Obelisk, the

Walls are bound to collapse, aren't they'd"

Understanding gradually lightened Stutts's face. Then it hit him full force. "Hydrodynamicst It will work!"

The gnomes heard Stutts'S cry and rallied around. With extravagant hand motions and frequent compliments to

Kitiara, Stutts explained her idea. The gnomes positively exploded with excitement. It was So Simple! So elegant!

They'd been fixated On a mechanical Solution, and here the human Woman had come up With a chemical answer!

Sturm heard the commotion and hustled down the ramp.

He agreed that the plan was a good One, but Saw One impor tant consideration. "What happens to Cupelix when the tower falls?" he asked. "Not even a brass dragon can with stand tons Of marble masonry falling On him."

"There has to be a way around that," Said Kitiara.

"Why don't we ask the dragon?" Said Sturm.

That's what they did. At first, the dragon was Sulky and refused to come down from his aerie. Kitiara Scolaed him for his petulance, and still there was no response. Then she alone heard: I don't wish to be disappointed again.

"We're not making any promises," she proclaimed loudly.

"We have a new scheme that We're pretty sure will Work, but it has an awkward problem. Freeing you may kill you."

A unique solution. I would not be a prisoner any longer.

"Oh, shut upi If you can't come down and talk to us like a reasonable dragon, We'll just bring the Obelisk down around you." Kitiara jerked her head to the others. "Let's go."

"We're not really going to use the vitriol With him still up there, are we, ma'am?" said Fitter.

"Why not? You want to see if it'll work, don't you?" She replied.

"But the dragon will get hurt." cutwood chewed thoughtfully On the tip Of his pencil. "I

Wonder," he mused, "What the tensile strength Of dragon hide and flesh is?" Sighter produced some vellum.

"We can do a calculation!"